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The Animal Kingdom, by Joe Lewis

Guide Entry to 95.05.08:

At Troup Magnet Academy of Sciences, we are entering a new phase in our magnet school’s philosophy: Library Power. Since America has entered the Informational Era, we as teachers must provide our students with the necessary skills to find information in a variety of ways. Therefore, in planning our future curricula we must incorporate the use of the library media center’s technology and resources in our lessons. Hopefully, at the end of our students’ tenure at Troup, they will be able to use the library as an additional tool for learning and enjoyment.

The curriculum unit, “The Animal Kingdom,” is designed to be used with students in grades 5 through 7. The students will be introduced to several phyla of animals where they will explore their habitats, classify them according to structure, present oral reports from their research on a particular phylum and perform scientific investigations with different species of animals.

In continuing with the hands-on approach in teaching science, I will include several scientific investigations which integrate social studies, literature and language. My overall expectation of this curriculum unit is to provide my colleagues with ideas to develop a thematic unit and enough background information where they will enjoy teaching about the animal kingdom, and pass their enthusiasm on to their students.

“The Animal Kingdom” will address the following concepts:

I. The Taxonomic System
II.The Animal Kingdom
III. Vertebrate Animal Phyla
____A) Phylum Chordata
________1. Class Aves
________2. Class Fish
________3. Class Reptilia
________4. Class Mammalia
IV. Invertebrate Animals Phyla
____A) Phylum Porifera
____B) Phylum Cnidaria
____C) Phylum Platyhelmintes
____D) Phylum Nematoda
____E) Phylum Annelida
____F) Phylum Mollusca
____G) Phylum Arthropoda
____H) Phylum Echinodermata
The prose section of the curriculum unit will provide teachers with information on all the previously mentioned phyla and classes of animal. After reviewing the background information for a particular phylum, an appendix with a list of activities which your class can perform with each group of animals. The lesson plan portion of the unit will include research and investigative type of activities which students can perform as independent study or group assignments.

(Recommended for General Science, grades 5-7)

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